GELIFES Seminars - Pim Drinkenburg

Pim Drinkenburg (Janssen Research & Development/NeuBio)

The (back-)translational challenge in neurodegenerative diseases

Missing links and novel approaches for assessing early functional brain alterations

Neurodegenerative diseases are devastating progressive disorders of the CNS for which presently no cure exists; only poorly efficacious therapies for symptomatic treatment may be available. New therapies aim for early disease intervention by preventing or slowing down the progressive pathology that eventually causes the behavioral and cognitive deficits. Clinical trials targeting the hallmarks of underlying pathology (e.g., anti-amyloid beta drugs in Alzheimer’s) thus far have been disappointing in achieving primary symptomatic endpoints. To investigate novel treatments, (preclinical) biomarkers with translational validity are needed to reliably indicate prodromal disturbances in brain functioning, thus enabling the identification of patients early on in the pathology progression as well as the early assessment of therapeutic effects on functional alterations in brain function. In this talk I would like to share with you some scientific rationales and experimental findings on neurophysiological investigation of neuronal circuit function and (behavioral) read-outs in animal neurodegenerative pathology models as proxies for such early functional alterations in brain function in Alzheimer's and Parkins's disease patients.

Biosketch
I obtained a Ph.D. degree (summa cum laude) in Comparative and Physiological Psychology on "Information Processing in an Animal Model for Absence Epilepsy" at the NICI, Radboud University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands, where I initially took up a position as a lecturer. After visiting research positions (Eòtvòs Loránd University/National Institute of Neurology & Psychiatry, Budapest, Hungary), I did a Post-Doc at the Medical Research Council (MRC), Neurochemical Pathology Unit in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, on novel behavioural characterisations of antipsychotics. Next, I accepted a position at Organon Laboratories, Newhouse, UK, to head the Behavioural Pharmacology and EEG Group, focusing on affective spectrum disorders. Presently, I work as Scientific Director and Janssen Fellow at Janssen Pharmaceutica in Belgium with a focus on translational systems neuroscience in drug discovery for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease. Thus far, I had the pleasure of serving as chairman of the Electrophysiology PIA Steering Committee (Alzheimer Association), am still serving as Past-President of the International Pharmaco-Electroencephalography Association (IPEG) and as an honorary UMC Fellow of the VUB (Free University Brussels). And, last but certainly not least, in 2019 I was humbled by an honorary appointment as full professor of Translational Neuroscience for Psychopathology at GELIFES, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.

Link to seminar